Mrs. Shovler

With winter finally making it our way so have the Northern Shovelers who overwinter on the ponds and lakes in our area. This Female Northern Shoveler was busy foraging for food on Clear Creek on a chilly December morning.

Hi Debbi, sounds like quite the crew with all those birds together. The males can be quite colorful as the breading season approaches. We really enjoy having them in the winter here and they can get pretty numerous and gather in large numbers. Hope your day is going well.

Thanks Jet, it’s fun to have them here in the winter as well. They can gather in quite late groups on one of the local ponds and watching them all forage together is quite a sight. Hope your doing well and enjoyed your holidays. Wishing you a very happy 2017.

Hi, these guys migrate from up North and spend winter here and many other places in the US. They have a fairly extensive range but from the map I have looks like they might not spend summer on the west coast of vancouver island.